Tax advisor quits over avoidance tips

A woman fills a tax return form in London. A tax advisor to the British government was forced to resign after he was secretly filmed giving advice on how to avoid paying tax, officials have said.
(AFP/File)

LONDON (AFP) – A tax advisor to the British government was forced to resign after he was secretly filmed giving advice on how to avoid paying tax, officials said on Saturday.

David Heaton was recorded by undercover BBC reporters at a London conference explaining to companies how to keep their money out of finance minister George Osborne's "grubby mitts".

Two months later, he started work on a panel advising the revenue ministry, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), on how to tackle abuse of the tax rules, according to the BBC.

A spokeswoman for HMRC confirmed that Heaton had resigned to preserve the integrity of the panel.

"The work of the General Anti-Abuse Rule advisory panel plays an important role in HMRC's highly effective drive against tax abuse," she said.

"The panel must command the confidence of both tax practitioners and the general public. We will be announcing Mr Heaton's successor shortly."